Mobile Search

International Adoption

Envisioning a World Where Every Child has a Loving Family

Millions of children worldwide are living without the hope of ever knowing what it is like to be loved by a family. In many countries, political turmoil, limited resources, poverty, and cultural attitudes contribute to the need for loving adoptive families.

At Bethany, we are called to address the global orphan crisis. Since 1982, Bethany has united thousands of international children with loving forever families—a testament to our expertise, integrity, and high quality of service. We invite you to discover the blessings of international adoption.

Meet the Children

Waiting is certainly difficult, especially if what you’re waiting for is a family. These waiting children have experienced things like being abandoned, living in an orphanage, malnutrition, and more. Many of these children are older; have grown up in an orphanage; have emotional, cognitive, or physical special needs; or need to be adopted with their siblings.

Many of these children will be given the chance to thrive if they are adopted into your loving family. Can you find a place in your heart to love one of these children?

Borislav and Iskra are siblings who need to be placed together. Iskra participates in different events of the Home she lives in and outside the Home. Currently Iskra participates in a cheerleader group and enjoys dancing. Iskra is also participating and developing skills in housekeeping and cooking. Iskra and her brother have a strong emotional bond with one another. Iskra and Borislav would benefit and thrive from a resourceful family that would be able to provide love, care, and support. For more information about the siblings please contact These400@bethany.org or your Global worker.

Landon is an active little boy who loves toys with sound. He recognizes familiar caregivers and will follow their movements around the room. He enjoys being held and listening to music. Landon would greatly benefit from a resourceful family that would be able to provide love, care, and support.
Full referral information is available for this child upon request. Please contact These400@bethany.org or your Global worker if you are interested in this child.

Active Phillip loves to be teased by his caregivers and enjoys playing with toys. He is alert and observant, turning when his name is called and watching his nannies as they move around the room. At 10 months old, Phillip could hold his head and chest up off the floor and was learning to sit independently. He is close to his caretaker and interacts well with her, responding to facial expressions. Phillip has a cute little smile and likes to be held and rocked. He would benefit from a resourceful family that would be able to provide love, care, and support.
Full referral information is available for this child upon request. Please contact These400@bethany.org or your Global worker if you are interested in this child.
*Special financial assistance is available to families adopting children in the Bamboo Project.*

More information coming soon!
Dimitar is an engaging young boy from Bulgaria. Dimitar would benefit and thrive from a resourceful family that would be able to provide love, care, and support. For more information about Dimitar please contact These400@bethany.org or your Global worker.

Tammy is described as being confident and full of fun! Tammy loves to be outside playing with the younger children and mothering them. She is well-behaved and affectionate. There is a possibility she has some learning delays, so she may require educational support. This child would benefit or thrive from a resourceful family that would be able to provide love, care, and support. For more information about Tammy please contact These400@bethany.org or contact your Global worker.

Andy is a 12 year old girl in need of a family. Andy is described as a child who is talkative, happy, helpful, and polite. Andy gets along well with the other children in her Home and enjoys taking care of the children who are younger or less skilled. Andy's interest include dancing and singing. Andy would benefit and thrive from a resourceful family that would be able to provide love, care, and support. For more information about Andy please contact These400@bethany.org or your Global worker.

Tim is described as being calm and empathetic toward others. Tim would greatly benefit from a resourceful family that would be able to provide love, care, and support.
Additional information is available for this child upon request. Please contact These400@bethany.org or your Global worker if you are interested in additional information on this child.

Miglena is a young girl in need of a home. Miglena enjoys activities that involve music. She enjoys humming along with songs and playing a tambourine. Other activities that Miglena participates in are going on trips, walks, and doing puzzles. Miglena would benefit and thrive from a resourceful family that would be able to provide love, care, and support. For more information about Miglena please contact These400@bethany.org or your Global worker.

Samuel is a shy child with a quick smile who gets along well with the other children. He enjoys playing with balls and swinging, and he likes to play hide and seek. Samuel may be a budding musician; he’s shown a keen interest in the electric piano and laughs aloud at the sound when he plays the keys! Samuel would benefit from a resourceful family that would be able to provide love, care, and support.
Full referral information is available for this child upon request. Please contact These400@bethany.org or your Global worker if you are interested in this child.
*Special financial assistance is available to families adopting children in the Bamboo Project.*

Rosanna is a young girl in need of a forever family. She is reported to laugh loudly when happy and attach to her caregivers. Rosanna would benefit and thrive from a resourceful family that would be able to provide love, care, and support. For more information about Rosanna please contact These400@bethany.org or your Global worker.

Bethany is currently seeking families for 400 children waiting for their forever family. These children come from different countries, speak different languages, have different needs and different stories, yet they have one thing in common...the desire to be a part of a loving family! Could you welcome a waiting child into your home? Or, provide financial supportto an adoptive family? You are their greatest hope!

What does it cost to adopt a child from another country?

The fees for International Adoption will vary greatly depending upon your state, and the country you wish to adopt from.
To help give you the most accurate estimate we can, please start by providing your zip code. Our fee calculator will guide you to an estimate.

The fees shown in the calculator are associated with different phases of the adoption process and do not represent an "up-front" cost.

* This total is only an estimate, each adoption is unique and fees will vary.

Legal information

All fees are subject to change and are non-refundable unless otherwise specified.

Fees are charged by Bethany Christian Services Global for services rendered and when services are provided or contracted; fees are based on actual cost of service provision and are waived or reduced only if a service is not provided.

Hague Accreditation

The practice of international adoption is regulated by The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The Hague provides guidelines to agencies in order to protect the best interests of internationally adopted children.

Bethany is accredited by the U.S. Department of State’s Council on Accreditation for all of the specific services we provide including compliance with the Hague Convention requirements. We work hard to ensure that high ethical standards are upheld in each and every adoption facilitated by Bethany.

Adoption Story

What is the power of one seemingly powerless child? “Benjamin's super-power is charisma,” said his adoptive father, Dennis. “There's something about him that draws people in and challenges their assumptions about disabilities once they have the chance to experience Benjamin.”

Benjamin's influence has rippled out from his neighborhood to his school to international circles, where top-level discussions are shaping the future of orphan care in China. But the people who have been the most radically transformed by this 9-year-old boy with Down syndrome are his adoptive parents, Dennis and Sarah.

In early 2004, with their 2-year-old daughter Emily in tow, Dennis and Sarah commenced the process of international adoption. Based on their lengthy experience working with people with developmental disabilities, the two social workers had decided to adopt a child with Down syndrome. “In looking through some of Bethany's information, we saw Benjamin,” Dennis said. “He leaped off the page at us, and I thought, 'There's our son.'”

Late in 2004, the couple went to Hong Kong and returned with Benjamin. Hong Kong has a well-developed social agency network. But Dennis began to wonder, what if Benjamin had been born in mainland China, where conditions are much different. What would his life have been like as a child with Down syndrome?

That question and the search for answers drove Dennis to undertake graduate studies in 2007 at the University of Louisville. Then in 2009, as he was framing his doctoral dissertation, Dennis met Bethany's international director. This had a profound impact on Dennis's understanding of orphan care. He has come to believe that there is no substitute for a family in the lives of children.

In addition to difficulties with attachment and emotional development, the severe neglect that is often experienced by children in institutional settings has been linked with adverse physical changes. Research has shown that the brains of children in orphanages literally shrink, resulting in cognitive deficits and behavioral issues.

“Kids get what they need in families,” Dennis insists. “Families are uniquely designed to provide children with the emotional inputs, the physical inputs, the safety, the protection, the attachments, etc.—those things occur in families.”

Yet like so many other countries, China has poured its resources into developing its orphanages. Is there, Dennis wondered, another, far more beneficial approach? Late in 2009, Dennis went to China to research the answers for his dissertation. After his return, he was brought in as a consultant to Bethany as they applied for a $2.2 million USAID grant to change the way that orphan care is done in China. Bethany received the grant and subsequently invited Dennis to join their international team.

Bethany's family- and community-based orphan care vies with the institutional approach in China. But “there's some pretty amazing stuff happening. Bethany is hoping that the evidence produced from this work will help to drive some of the discussion at the table.”

It all started with one small boy with Down syndrome. And ultimately it comes full circle, back to Benjamin and the family he has shaped in ways he does not fully understand.

“Adopting Benjamin has been the most phenomenal event that has ever happened in our lives. It has opened new worlds to us in so many different ways,” Dennis said. “Benjamin is a door or a gateway into something bigger, and I think a lot of people have travelled through that gateway. I see that as being God at work.”

Dennis and Sarah

Adoption Story

What is the power of one seemingly powerless child? “Benjamin's super-power is charisma,” said his adoptive father, Dennis. “There's something about him that draws people in and challenges their assumptions about disabilities once they have the chance to experience Benjamin.”

Benjamin's influence has rippled out from his neighborhood to his school to international circles, where top-level discussions are shaping the future of orphan care in China. But the people who have been the most radically transformed by this 9-year-old boy with Down syndrome are his adoptive parents, Dennis and Sarah.

In early 2004, with their 2-year-old daughter Emily in tow, Dennis and Sarah commenced the process of international adoption. Based on their lengthy experience working with people with developmental disabilities, the two social workers had decided to adopt a child with Down syndrome. “In looking through some of Bethany's information, we saw Benjamin,” Dennis said. “He leaped off the page at us, and I thought, 'There's our son.'”

Late in 2004, the couple went to Hong Kong and returned with Benjamin. Hong Kong has a well-developed social agency network. But Dennis began to wonder, what if Benjamin had been born in mainland China, where conditions are much different. What would his life have been like as a child with Down syndrome?

That question and the search for answers drove Dennis to undertake graduate studies in 2007 at the University of Louisville. Then in 2009, as he was framing his doctoral dissertation, Dennis met Bethany's international director. This had a profound impact on Dennis's understanding of orphan care. He has come to believe that there is no substitute for a family in the lives of children.

In addition to difficulties with attachment and emotional development, the severe neglect that is often experienced by children in institutional settings has been linked with adverse physical changes. Research has shown that the brains of children in orphanages literally shrink, resulting in cognitive deficits and behavioral issues.

“Kids get what they need in families,” Dennis insists. “Families are uniquely designed to provide children with the emotional inputs, the physical inputs, the safety, the protection, the attachments, etc.—those things occur in families.”

Yet like so many other countries, China has poured its resources into developing its orphanages. Is there, Dennis wondered, another, far more beneficial approach? Late in 2009, Dennis went to China to research the answers for his dissertation. After his return, he was brought in as a consultant to Bethany as they applied for a $2.2 million USAID grant to change the way that orphan care is done in China. Bethany received the grant and subsequently invited Dennis to join their international team.

Bethany's family- and community-based orphan care vies with the institutional approach in China. But “there's some pretty amazing stuff happening. Bethany is hoping that the evidence produced from this work will help to drive some of the discussion at the table.”

It all started with one small boy with Down syndrome. And ultimately it comes full circle, back to Benjamin and the family he has shaped in ways he does not fully understand.

“Adopting Benjamin has been the most phenomenal event that has ever happened in our lives. It has opened new worlds to us in so many different ways,” Dennis said. “Benjamin is a door or a gateway into something bigger, and I think a lot of people have travelled through that gateway. I see that as being God at work.”

How Do I Get Started?

If you have taken the time to consider adoption, and have determined a plan you feel is right for your family, you are ready to take the next step. We have been helping families adopt since 1944 and we will be there to support you every step of the way.